All posts by z3u9t.icu

Many Glasgow Rangers fans have been flocking to some transfer news on Danilho Doekhi.

As per Croatian news outlet 24 Sata (via Ibrox Chat), the Vitesse central defender is now set to decide his future, as both the Teddy Bears as well as Dinamo Zagreb have made pre-contract offers for him.

Having already secured John Souttar from Hearts on a pre-contract, the Light Blues do not seem to be messing about when it comes to increasing their centre-back options, especially as  Connor Goldson and Leon Balogun‘s contracts are up in the summer.

Nonetheless, if they both go on a free, then Souttar and Doekhi would be more than adequate replacements, and the latter has already hinted that he would like the move, claiming that he is ‘flattered’ by Gers’ interest, and that they are a ‘very beautiful’ club (de Gelderlander).

Dutch football agent Freddy van der Hoorn believes that his fellow countryman has ‘all the ingredients’ for a good centre-half, as he is ‘aggressive’ at six-foot-three, but also ‘very comfortable’ on the ball (Rangers Review).

Nonetheless, Doekhi would be another solid addition to Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s squad.

Rangers fans on Doekhi transfer news

These RFC supporters flocked to the transfer news as it was shared on Twitter:

“Come on big man, come to Glasgow!”

Credit: @Smudgersmith15

“I beg”

Credit: @SaucyGlen_V2

“Hope it’s us”

Credit: @EducatedOranje

“This would be glorious if we could pull it off”

Credit: @EveryOtherSatu1

“Whatever Dinamo are offering, offer them more.”

Credit: @MattG95

“Ok Doekhi. Better choose the Gers though!”

Credit: @Crypto_Kirk86

In other news, find out transfer update was lauded by Gers here!

West Ham United manager David Moyes will be hoping for a return to winning ways when his side face Chelsea at the London Stadium this lunchtime.

The Irons are now winless in their last three Premier League outings, having been defeated by Wolverhampton Wanderers and defending champions Manchester City before a kick in the teeth on Wednesday after Brighton and Hove Albion bagged a late equaliser.

They do still hold fourth place in the standings, though, and that could be bolstered with a result against the title-contending Blues today. Moyes could seriously bolster the east Londoners’ top-four claims by making a bold and brutal call on veteran centre-back Craig Dawson.

The 31-year-old has been hugely underwhelming in recent matches and it’s hardly a surprise that they have struggled to pick up wins, as he has come in to replace injured Italian stalwart Angelo Ogbonna, who will now miss the rest of the campaign with an ACL problem.

Dawson struggled against the Seagulls and was arguably one of the worst players on the pitch – per SofaScore, he lost a whopping 84% of his six duels, which is very poor for a central defender and one of his aerial ability at 6 foot 2.

Meanwhile, his display at Molineux flattered to deceive, with Evening Standard reporter Jack Rosser grading him poorly in his post-match ratings column, as he wrote: ‘Struggled at the back a little in stepping in for Angelo Ogbonna and was poor on the ball.’

Thomas Tuchel has plenty of high-calibre players available at his disposal, especially in the final thrid, where he will look to punish the out-of-form Hammers.

The prospect of the towering Romelu Lukaku or the deft touch and electric pace of Timo Werner is a frightening one up against the former Watford and West Brom defender.

Chelsea currently top the table and have scored the second-most goals in the Premier League thus far, so it would be a massive risk from Moyes to start the defensive liability today.

He must be ruthless and axe the £52k-per-week Dawson from his starting XI, and he could easily do so with Issa Diop waiting in the wings for an opportunity.

AND in other news, Moyes targets £26m-rated “leader” after big West Ham blow…

Flocking to Twitter, these West Ham United fans have erupted over a fresh transfer update from ExWHUemployee involving Manchester United ace Jesse Lingard.

The England international, who enjoyed a fine stint on loan at the London Stadium over the second half of 2020/2021, has been on West Ham’s radar since the summer as they eye a permanent move. (The Telegraph)

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/west-ham-latest-updates/” title=”West Ham latest updates!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

Despite manager David Moyes’ best efforts, Lingard elected to stay in Manchester and fight for a place under ex-boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer – a decision which has resulted in him playing just 88 Premier League minutes (WhoScored).

Now, reports suggest he is open to leaving in the January transfer window as his new contract talks stall with West Ham in the fray to sign him (ESPN).

His current deal expires in 2022, meaning he could leave at the end of this season for free unless United sell next month.

Sharing news on West Ham’s involvement, reliable club insider ExWHUemployee has updated supporters, saying Lingard is in fact still a top target for the club with an early January move expected (West Ham Way). However, they will face competition for the 29-year-old with Newcastle United also keen.

West Ham fans erupt…

Flocking to Twitter, it’s little wonder some West Ham fans are ecstatic given he is a proven player under Moyes – having scored nine goals whilst assisting four others in 16 Premier League starts for him last season (WhoScored).

Lauded as the best English top-flight player on current form at one stage during his loan, Lingard’s signing could be a real injection of quality as West Ham aim to keep chase in the Champions League qualification quest.

Taking this into account, it’s little wonder some Irons fans called this the ‘best news’ of the week – find out more here.

“The band is coming back together again”

Credit: @VintageLanzini

“WE ARE BACK”

Credit: @tsss67

“Thank God. Top target is what I wanted to hear. The homecoming”

Credit: @ovo_forbes

“sign the ting”

Credit: @tobigtocarry

“Bring him home Dave”

Credit: @ejr_00

“Best news I’ve had all week”

Credit: @LocksmithDuude

In other news: Insider says club could sell their ‘top drawer’ mainstay to West Ham, he’s ‘very keen’ to join, find out more here.

After a disappointing 1-0 defeat against Huddersfield Town at the weekend, West Brom are back in league action this evening with a clash against Blackpool away from home. 

With club captain Jake Livermore now serving a three-game ban after picking up a red card in the defeat against Huddersfield, he will be unavailable for the next few fixtures. 

West Brom also have the likes of Dara O’Shea and Kean Bryan out with injuries. Taking this into account here is how we feel West Brom could line up tonight with three changes expected.

In goal considering how he’s played in almost every league game so far this season, we can see Sam Johnstone will keep his place in the team on this occasion.

For a back three, we think Baggies boss Valerien Ismael will go for the same trio that started against Huddersfield with Kyle Bartley, Cedric Kipre and Matt Clarke all in to try and keep a clean sheet this evening.

In midfield, with Livermore suspended we think Ismael will go with Robert Snodgrass and Jason Molumby, with Alex Mowatt, who is currently earning a weekly wage of £13k-per-week according to Salary Sport, dropping down to the substitutes bench.

At wing-back, we think Connor Townsend will keep his place on the left-hand side with Taylor Gardner-Hickman also retaining his place on the right-hand side.

For the attack, we can see Ismael sticking with Karlan Grant and Matt Phillips but bringing Callum Robinson, who managed to score in Republic of Ireland’s 3-0 win over Luxembourg during the recent international break, back in with Grady Diangana dropping out after he failed to impress and even have one clear shot at goal against Huddersfield.

West Brom are on an incredibly spotty run of form at the moment with three wins, one draw and four defeats under their belt in their eight previous league outings.

Thus, Ismael and everyone else at the Midlands club will undoubtedly be hoping that the team will be able to produce a strong performance and pick up all three points so they aren’t in danger of potentially missing out on a promotion place by the end of the season.

In other news: Forget Furlong: Ismael must unleash “important” WBA machine, he’d terrify Blackpool – opinion

As confirmed by Aston Villa manager Steven Gerrard, his side will be without striker Danny Ings – with the player also sidelined alongside Bertrand Traore and Trezeguet ahead of Man City tonight.

The Lowdown: Gerrard era begins…

It has been a fine start to the Liverpool legend’s managerial career in the Midlands with Gerrard so far amassing a 100% win rate over his first two matches in charge.

Victories against Brighton and Crystal Palace have cemented a dream start for the 41-year-old but fixtures are about to come quick, fast and in greater difficulty.

Next up, the Villans take on Premier League champions and 2021/2022 title chasers Man City at Villa Park this evening and Gerrard has now confirmed that he will be without another player alongside Trezeguet and Traore.

The Latest: Gerrard confirms Ings ‘setback’…

As explained by Gerrard, summer signing Ings will not be available for the City clash tonight due to suffering an injury setback, coming after he made the bench against Palace.

“Danny, unfortunately, won’t make Man City. We were protecting him at the weekend,” he said (via Birmingham Live).

“He’s had a little bit of a setback – a previous injury – nothing major, but we had to put the brakes on for a few days at the least.”

“So there’ll be one change in the squad – Keinan Davis will replace Danny Ings, the rest is as it was the last time.”

The Verdict: Blow for Gerrard…

Being without the 29-year-old for this evening will come as a dampener for Villa as they seek to maintain their brilliant run of form since Gerrard’s arrival at the club.

Lauded as a ‘phenomenal’ striker by pundit Frank McAvennie, the Villans could have done with the addition of another option up front and alternative threat.

Out of Villa’s entire squad, Ings is also their joint top-scorer and joint-highest provider of assists in the Premier League (WhoScored) – outlining just how useful he can be when available.

His sublime overhead kick against Newcastle United earlier this campaign highlights an obvious forward threat and Villa certainly could have done with that injection of quality today.

In other news: Lange now weighing Aston Villa bid to sign top class £30m+ man as agents work behind the scenes, find out more here.

The Athletic’s Phil Hay has dropped an exciting claim about Leeds United starlet Cody Drameh amid his performance against Arsenal in the Carabao Cup on Tuesday night.

What’s the story?

Despite Marcelo Bielsa choosing a relatively strong starting line-up for the trip to the Emirates, the Leeds boss did hand a rare opportunity to one of his club’s brightest young prospects, Drameh.

And, during a discussion with fans for The Athletic, Hay delivered his take on the young right-back.

He said: “The point about Drameh was that he could be a natural successor to Ayling, who still has time left but is clearly not in his first flush of youth. Drameh is well thought of and I do feel like he’s got a serious chance here if he’s patient.”

Part of Leeds United’s future

While naturally much of the excitement of Leeds United fans will be surrounding Joe Gelhardt – especially after his superb match-saving cameo against Wolves at the weekend – Drameh is another from the U23s group who could really make a name for himself at Elland Road.

At just 19, the teenager has got plenty of time to grow and develop, and while first-team minutes may be more of a premium now that the Whites find themselves out of one of the cup competitions, he’s got all the makings of being a top star for the future.

As Hay hinted at, Drameh could be the perfect natural successor to Luke Ayling at right-back, with the latter now having turned 30 back in the summer.

Eredivisie scout Xander Wilkinson was quick to rave about his potential and how good he is already, saying: “Defensively so impressive! His mind works quicker than most right-backs I’ve seen in a naturally defensive mindset. Tactically very aware of what is being asked of him, times his engagements well, needs to add a little more unpredictability going forward.”

Whether it’s over the course of this season, or the following one, Leeds fans will be hoping to see a lot more of Drameh, and that is sure to excite them.

Meanwhile, this Leeds star was shocking vs Arsenal…

West Bromwich Albion have been handed a potential injury blow regarding the return to fitness of Alex Mowatt.

What’s the latest?

According to Steve Madeley’s recent report for The Athletic, the central midfielder, who missed the club’s 3-0 win over Bristol City on Saturday as well as the 2-0 defeat to Swansea City last Wednesday as a result of a toe injury picked up against Birmingham City, could be ruled out once again for the Baggies’ trip to Fulham this Saturday.

Ismael would be gutted

Considering just how impressive Mowatt has been for West Brom since making the move to The Hawthorns this summer, should the 26-year-old indeed be ruled out of what could arguably be Albion’s biggest game of the season this weekend, it would undoubtedly leave Valerien Ismael gutted.

Indeed, over his 12 Championship appearances so far this season, the £6.3m-rated man has scored three goals, registered one assist and created two big chances for his teammates, as well as taking an average of one shot and making 1.4 key passes per game.

The former England U20 midfielder has also impressed in metrics more typical of his position, making an average of 1.9 interceptions, 1.9 tackles and winning 5.3 duels per game.

These returns have seen the player who Steve Evans dubbed a “special” talent average a SofaScore match rating of 7.19, ranking him as West Brom’s joint second-best performer in the league.

As such, should Ismael be without the 26-year-old for the top of the table clash against Fulham on Saturday, it would very much appear to reduce Albion’s chances of picking up a positive result at Craven Cottage – something that could well mark the beginning of the end for West Brom’s title hopes come next May, having already drifted away from top-spot AFC Bournemouth.

In other news: “I’m sure”: Journo drops transfer claim on “special” WBA-linked ace, Ismael must act

Tottenham Hotspur finally got back to winning ways in the Premier League after they defeated Aston Villa on Sunday afternoon.

Nuno Santo’s men had been thumped in each of their last three outings, the last of which being an embarrassing north London derby defeat to Arsenal a week ago but clearly, the Lilywhites put those ghosts in the past to deliver one of their most impressive performances of the 2021/22 campaign.

Heung-min Son was one major catalyst towards the three points as he provided an assist for both of their goals – the first time that Spurs had scored more than one goal in any league game this term.

Although he wasn’t the highest-rated player on SofaScore.

That acclaim went to Danish midfielder Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, who was graded an 8.0, in comparison to the South Korean’s 7.3.

The 26-year-old even opened the scoring for Spurs with a cool finish from the edge of the penalty box after he received the ball from Son just 27 minutes into the match.

But Hojbjerg’s contribution didn’t stop there as he was a constant thorn in Dean Smith’s side all afternoon.

Only one other player (Emerson, 86) recorded more touches than the £36m-rated powerhouse (84), proving he was an influential figure in the engine room, playing alongside Oliver Skipp and Tanguy Ndombele.

The 21-year-old gem’s involvement has allowed the Dane to have more of an influence in the final third, hence why he was in the right spot at the right time to get himself on the scoresheet.

He made 89% of his 66 passing attempts, which was the best of any Spurs starter, whilst he also managed six successful dribbles from six attempts (100%). It suggests that he played a key role in linking the midfield to the attack.

By comparison, more-attack minded players like Son (three) and Ndombele (one) managed far fewer.

Elsewhere, Hojbjerg still did his defensive duties a lot of justice – as per SofaScore, he managed two tackles, two clearances, one interception and even won nine of 12 duels (75%).

football.london’s Alasdair Gold described the 6 foot 1 midfielder as a “big presence”, whilst the Evening Standard’s Dan Kilpatrick claimed he was “tidy on the ball and shielded the back four well from the threat of John McGinn.”

On the above evidence, you could argue that Hojbjerg ran the show for Nuno and Spurs at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. He was different class and deserves just as many plaudits as Son.

AND in other news, Paratici could sign Spurs’ next Dembele in swoop for “extraordinary” £36m-rated beast…

It was an important result for Southampton on Saturday where they managed to secure their first league win of the season with a 1-0 victory over Leeds United.

A second-half goal from Armando Broja was enough to secure the three points for Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side, putting them in 15th place in the league table with seven points prior to Sunday’s fixtures.

Despite the victory, there was one player that was involved against Leeds that failed to impress.

The player in question was Saints winger Mohamed Elyounoussi, who started the game against Marcelo Bielsa’s side before being taken off and replaced by Nathan Tella late on in the match.

During his time on the pitch, Elyounoussi failed to even have one shot on target while he was also unable to provide one accurate cross or long ball.

His dismal afternoon was capped off by a miss at the back post where he was unable to get his head to what would have been a simple tap in. What made matters worse was the fact he lost possession on 19 occasions and won just ten out of the 21 duels he was involved in. That ultimately earned him a rather disappointing overall match rating of 6.3/10, making him the lowest-rated Southampton player on the day that started the match, according to SofaScore.

Given how Elyounoussi, who is currently earning a weekly wage of £60k-per-week according to Spotrac, was taken out of the starting XI in Southampton’s 3-1 defeat against Chelsea, we feel as though the winger failed to repay the faith that Hasenhuttl showed in him to put him back in the starting XI against Leeds.

Southampton signed Elyounoussi back in the 2018 summer transfer window from FC Basel before sending him out on loan to Scottish club Celtic in the next summer window.

Overall, the 27-year-old, who is currently valued at £10.8m according to Transfermarkt, has made just 26 appearances for Hasenhuttl’s side, scoring four goals and providing two assists along the way.

During his time at Celtic, Elyounoussi was once described as being a “passenger” by Hoops podcaster Paul John Dykes, which is how we feel he was like in the game against Leeds.

Moving forward, if Hasenhuttl decides to stick with Elyounoussi in the starting XI for their upcoming Premier League clash against Burnley next weekend, the winger will have to put in a solid display to show that he is worthy of being a regular starter for the club, or else he could find himself back on the bench, potentially for an extended period of time.

In other news: Forget Broja: £60k-p/w Southampton beast who made 6 key passes stole the show vs Leeds – opinion

Tottenham Hotspur kickstart the inaugural UEFA Europa Conference League group stages with a trip to France as they face Stade Rennes at Roazhon Park this evening.

And manager Nuno Santo will be wanting to see a reaction after the Lilywhites’ unbeaten run in the Premier League came to a crashing end last weekend after they were well-beaten by then-winless Crystal Palace.

Spurs are among the favourites to win the competition but will face the Ligue 1 outfit without several of their key stars, many of whom are either absent through injury or are currently unavailable for other reasons.

One of the biggest decisions facing the Portuguese head coach is his midfield. It was completely overrun against the Eagles on Saturday and that should hardly come as a surprise as it was unbalanced and very one-dimensional.

A trio of Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Oliver Skipp and Harry Winks saw Spurs lack creativity and the eagerness to move the ball forward – as such, they managed just two shots all game, compared to Palace’s 18, as per SofaScore.

Between the whole side, only two key passes were created, with just one coming from that engine room, so evidently, a change needs to happen and Nuno could well have the ideal solution in Tanguy Ndombele, especially as Giovani Lo Celso is yet to return.

The club-record signing may have wanted to leave the north Londoners in the summer but he has been back in training and will have to now fight for his place and prove that he can still be a key cog this season.

On his day, there is no one more technically gifted and talented in this squad than the Frenchman.

According to ex-Spurs goalkeeper Joe Hart, the 24-year-old dynamo is “unplayable” at times, as revealed by BT Sport pundit Rio Ferdinand, who said (via football.london):

“I said to Joe, how good is he? And he said ‘this kid is a world-beater, he can do anything.’ He just turned around during the game and said ‘this kid is unplayable.'”

The £45m-rated star is yet to feature for the club this season, so he could certainly do with a runout here this evening.

Last season, Ndombele topped the charts for dribbles per game in the Premier League (2.2), so that goes to show he can be the missing link between defence and the attack. Furthermore, he was one of the most fouled players in the squad, which means he’ll pick up valuable set-pieces and is obviously a tricky man to tackle successfully.

A lot of people would love to see Bryan Gil unleashed in the creative role and whilst he should certainly start this game, it’s the Frenchman that needs to start.

It’s a move that could be game-changing, not just this evening but for the remainder of the season.

AND in other news, Nuno must ruthlessly axe £18m-rated Spurs dud tonight, he’s become an “average player”…